The Dark Knight trilogy p1 A gathering of knights
by CrimsonHeart91
Summary: Set in a realistic and well designed marvel dc earth. The penguin and the kingpin form a dark alliance.Now batman must not only defend gotham but new york as well, he's not doing it alone though, guest starring the batman family and the marvel knights!
1. The pieces fall in place

a/n: my first fanfic. set in a very realistic and well designed marvel/dc earth. takes place before identity crisis and avenger's dissassembled.

disclaimer: i do not own any of the characters of marvel or d.c although i wish i did.

**Chapter one- The pieces fall into place**

The heavy rain poured mercilessly on Gotham city. _'Storm of the decade' _was what the weatherman had called it. And indeed it was like nothing the city had ever known.

An army of umbrellas marched across the streets, trying to find shelter from the raging tempest that had engulfed their city.

Everyone was worried by the rain, everyone….but him.

Batman stood on the ledge of the gotham cathedral, his hand holding on to a nearby gargoyle statue for support. His visage, concealed by the weather and the night, made him impossible to see by an untrained eye. He watched meticulously at the teeming masses below him, observing them individually, watching for any suspicious characters.

"_What, no bat-umbrella?"_ chuckled a voice behind him

"_You're late" _batman replied with a stern tone, not even bothering to look back.

"_Hey going from New York to gotham isn't exactly a joy-ride, plus I got side-tracked by another goblin"_ the shadowy figure said as he plopped down unto the ledge and stood beside batman

"_hmphf, I'm guessing it's another Osborne" _batman said with a smirk

"_Well, I'm guessing you didn't call me out here to your turf just to show-off your new-found comedic skills_" Spider-man replied as he made a small somersault and landed on top of the gargoyle statue, facing batman.

Batman pulled out a small black ball and gently squeezed it. The ball immediately hummed to life with a faint glow and floated in front of batman and spider-man. The ball projected holographic images in front of them.

"_2 weeks ago, oracle alerted me to several known criminals who had arrived in gotham under their civilian identities"_ numerous photos of rough looking men appeared simultaneously. Spider-man recognized some of them but the others were totally new to him.

"Quentin beck a.k.a Mysterio, Herman Schultz a.k.a The Shocker, Max Dillon a.k.a Electro, Aleksei Sytsevich a.k.a Rhino, Dr. Calvin Zabo a.k.a Mr. Hyde, and two individuals whom we have failed to identify" batman gave Spider-man an upset look.

"_Your villains—your expertise---your helping"_ batman stated as he pulled out his grappling gun and prepared to leave.

"_Wait! What do you mean by 'helping?'_" spider-man quickly scaled the wall and confronted batman. Batman merely looked at him then fired his grappling gun and soared into the wet dark sky…

**Gotham harbor: one hour ago **

A large cargo freighter docked into pier 48. The vicious storm covered the whole harbor front in darkness. Ship crews hurriedly flee the docks, everyone except the staff of pier 48.

"_Boss, I thought the kingpin sent all of his goons to you by road"_ the thug shivered; even with his thick sweater the cold rain still chilled his bones. The whole crew contended with the harsh weather. The only one accustomed to the current climate was Oswald Copplepot—known by most gothamites as The Penguin.

"No, the kingpin sent his b-list clowns by road, the ones in the freighter—those are the professionals" the penguin explained with a sadistic grin on his face.

His transaction with the kingpin was four months in the making. Penguin would supply him with mass-produced weapons courtesy of Arkham's residents; in exchange, the kingpin would allow him contract rights to New York's deadliest super-powered mercenaries. It was a brilliant deal for both the crime lords; the kingpin would be able to arm his enforcers with gadgetry crafted by maniacs like the joker, scarecrow, riddler, two-face, Mr. freeze and a host of other villains while the penguin could bolster his ranks with heavy-hitters like rhino, shocker, mysterio, electro and the rest of NYC's finest criminals.

It was a strange deal for the penguin but after the dark knight went on a successful three-week campaign resulting in the arrest and incarceration of 93 percent of gotham's criminal community, the penguin felt that he needed to take drastic measures otherwise batman would win his war on crime.

The ship docked successfully into the harbor. It took twenty minutes to unload the special passenger crates that penguin designed specifically to carry his cargo comfortably and stealthily through the Atlantic. The huge air conditioned crates were built to mimic a jet plane's first class section, they were secured by a voice activation lock, and only the penguin could release the madness the patiently sat inside the steel crates.

Three crates, all were hauled down onto the unloading zone. Penguin and ten of his armed thugs stood in front of the crates. The penguin pressed a small switch on his umbrella, beacons on the door of the three crates suddenly glowed green.

"_Activation code—blue mackerel_" the penguin said referring to his favorite fish, the doors slowly opened. One figure stepped out per crate. The thugs slowly inched away in fear of the three figures in front of them.

The penguin took a step forward and produced from his pocket a small piece of paper. He smiled gleefully at the three mass-murderers assembled in front of him.

"_Welcome to Gotham city_, _BULLSEYE, NITRO, and TYPHOID MARY!_

**New york city: Now**

Hells kitchen glimmered like an infernal gem in the night. Several apartment buildings were on fire, the cries of the innocent echoed into the blackness of the sky, police sirens wailed in the distance, gunfire faintly erupted from time to time and the worse part was that he could hear them all…

For a blind man, Matt Murdock was far more aware than most people with sight. A freak accident had stripped him of the use of his eyes when he was still a child but in return his remaining four senses were enhanced to superhuman levels. After graduating from Columbia University with top honors, matt decided to become a lawyer, he soon realized that the war on crime needed to be taken to another level; he donned a mask and forged a name. During the day he is Matt Murdock- New York's top lawyer, but at the night he is the man without fear…DAREDEVIL!

Daredevil crouched on the roof of an apartment; he just stayed there hearing the chaos that ensued all across New York. Though hell's kitchen received a heavy beating during the attacks earlier that night, all of New York was soon engulfed in a swift current of mob violence. The suit-wearing hordes of the NYC criminal community poured to the streets, totting hi-tech weaponry and odd-looking gadgets.

During those 3 hours of tortuous fighting, daredevil defended his turf from thugs wielding weapons he had little experience with- freeze-guns, assault rifles disguised as umbrellas, exploding stuff toys, fear-inducing gas grenades and a host of other goofy but deadly armaments.

Daredevil almost got killed, the thug's superior weaponry and insurmountable numbers almost overwhelmed daredevil--luckily for him he had friends.

Daredevil reflected on that particular moment, he had his back against the wall when suddenly out of nowhere, Luke cage along with the other 'new york knights' as they were called by the media, entered the fray throwing punches and kicking teeth. Iron fist, shang-chi, a de-powered moon knight, and blade all came in to assist daredevil in the fight. The fight ended with the criminals arrested and hell's kitchen purged of the threat.

After that, the New York knights dispersed to their respective neighborhoods to halt the crime wave there.

Daredevil just stood there, patiently waiting for any sign of trouble, a shadowy figure slowly crept behind him.

"_Hey Luke, how are things in Harlem?" _Daredevil took of his mask and ruffled his hair a bit. "_Well, iron fist and I knocked down the goons there with ease, we let the police handle the leftovers" _Luke cage went up beside daredevil and sat on a ledge next to him.

"_I spoke to castle, a while ago" _Luke said with a grim face. Everybody respected the punisher but hated his methods.

"_Oh? About what?" _Daredevil said pretending to be interested, the thought of the punisher fighting earlier tonight made his stomach turn, he disliked criminals but that didn't mean that he wanted them dead without a fair trial.

"_Castle thinks that the weapons used by those thugs tonight didn't originate in New York" _Luke explained.

"_So where did they come from?" _daredevil asked as he stood up, luke could tell from the tone of his voice that he was getting interested.

"_Castle thinks they may have come from gotham city" _luke said as he also stood up.

Daredevil flinched in disbelief. _"gotham? That's batman's place, I don't think bat's would let something like this happen, especially with the number of lives at stake" _daredevil pointed out with conviction. He respected batman and admired his dedication to keeping the whole of gotham city safe from crime. But in light of what had happened could he really trust that the batman was still in control of gotham? After all batman was known for keeping his activities to himself, neither the justice league nor the avengers were welcome in gotham. The dark knight has his own philosophy on dealing with crime and he hated it when other heroes intervened in his city.

"_I dunno matt, batman never had any real back-up in guarding that city, except maybe his dinky sidekicks but it was gonna happen sooner or later, batman would have lost control of gotham—what makes you think tonight wasn't proof of that?" _Luke raised his eyebrow at daredevil. Daredevil merely stared back at Luke cage with an unconvinced look. "_Batman's been_ _through a lot of dark times we have to respect his skills and give him benefit of the doubt, what makes you think we have the right to barge into gotham and take this into our own hands?" _daredevil argued furiously, luke knew that he couldn't debate with daredevil—not in his lawyer mode.

"_You're right—as always—but lets at least holla at him, ya know? Inform him on what went down here in New York, if we cant go into his turf then we can at least ask the world's greatest detective for some help—make him come here to our city" _daredevil liked cage's idea.

"_good plan, lets gather as many knights as we can, so we can coordinate a plan to put the city back on it's feet" _daredevil said excitedly.

Luke cage was about to climb down the apartment's service ladder when daredevil called after him.

"_Can you contact spider-man? With Dr Strange and ghost rider in another dimension we're going to need a heavy-hitter like him" _daredevil noted to luke cage.

Luke cage was silent for a moment then with a nervous tone replied _"ya know that's weird, throughout the whole night—spider man was nowhere to be seen" _


	2. Cavewebs

**Chapter two- Cave webs**

Spider-man stood in awe at the beauty of the bat-cave. He's never been inside the cave but he had heard from the avengers that it was a grand novel place…boy where they right. A giant t-rex loomed in the background and beside it was an equally large penny, glass cases littered the cave making it look like a museum, in the cases were different memorabilia gathered by batman over the years: playing cards from the joker, 22 caliber pistols used by two-face, the penguin's trick umbrella, deathstroke's sword and other paraphernalia once wielded by batman's foes.

Spider-man's attention was caught by a display of a robin costume, spider-man had encountered nightwing before but he had never met any of batman's robin protégés, spider-man noticed a small engraving on the pedestal of the case, it read _'A good soldier'_

"_Ah yes, master Todd's old robin outfit, master bruce had insisted on displaying it even after the poor boy's death, we will always remember him" _lectured a kind voice from behind spider-man.

Spider-man looked back and saw an aged butler in front of him. He was shocked by the sight of the evidently English man.

"_Who are you?" _spider-man stammered struggling to sound tough and heroic. There was something about the butler that intimidated him.

"_I am Alfred pennyworth, good sir, loyal and faithful servant to master bruce" _Alfred said as he gave an elegant bow.

Spider-man gave an amused whistle at the distinguished butler. _"Wow! You know Bruce Wayne is batman? And I thought that the whole sharing of secret identity thing was only between super-heroes" _spider-man quipped humorously. Alfred merely rolled his eyes at him. _"You must be Sir Peter parker, alter-ego spider-man" _Alfred remarked with a cool tone. _"Well it's nice to know that even in gotham my exploits are famous" spider_-man playfully bowed in triumph. "_Not really sir, Master Bruce just informed me that you were a cheery one" _Alfred remarked as a sly smile formed on his face.

"_Right whatever" _spider-man said as he grumbled some faint words under his mask.

"_Now, I am here to ask you if you are interested in refreshing yourself while waiting for master bruce, I imagine that he will take some time with the bat-computer as he searches for his answers." _Alfred explained with a thick British accent.

Spider-man rubbed his hands in delight. The idea of food and drink sounded good to him, he spent two hours on the train to gotham plus the fact that he had to swing his way to the meeting place batman had assigned.

"_A little dinner wouldn't do me any harm" _spider-man said, "_what's on the menu Alf?" _he said as he took of his mask. Alfred merely smiled at him and went away to the kitchen.

Batman was on-line with oracle. She had sent him S.H.I.E.L.D. files on all the criminals who had recently entered gotham. The news wasn't so bad; though these guys had impressive abilities and weaponry they had the intelligence of rocks. Spider-man on his own had no problem taking these guys down before, what more with batman there?

Batman printed the files and stood up from the chair, he went to the armory to get some gadgets hand-tailored for their mission: high-impact bat-suit to withstand blows from Mr. Hyde, adhesive charges to slow down the rhino, energy-dampening batarangs to disable electro, inertia rounds to counter shocker's powers, and a pair of specially-designed power gauntlets for the two-individuals whom oracle had failed to identify if batman didn't know what kind of abilities they had then he's going to have to take them out immediately, the gauntlets were energy based meaning that they were light-weight and easy to carry but gave him the means to spar with super-strong foes like killer-croc, Solomon Grundy, Man-bat…and even Superman.

After arming himself to the teeth, batman searched the cave for spider-man, it didn't take him long enough to find his wall crawling ally sitting down in front of a portable wooden table with his mask off, gorging on a delectable feast that Alfred had prepared.

"_What are you doing?" _batman asked frustratingly. Peter parker held a chicken in one hand and a spoon full of tomato soup in the other. _"Oh, I was ah…preparing myself for later" _peter said between mouthfuls of chicken. Alfred went up to batman with a wooden chair.

"_master parker has quite an appetite" _Alfred said as he plopped the chair in front of batman. _"Maybe you should join him for dinner Master Bruce, tonight looks to be a long one, I strongly believe that a light dinner will do you some good" _Alfred insisted.

Batman closed his eyes for a brief moment, his patrol out in the dragging storm had drained him, but with the evident threat looming in and spider-man here to help him, batman felt that time was precious and every second they spent here in the cave was another second lost to those dangerous criminals roaming around gotham.

"_Get up peter we're moving out" batman_ said with a deep voice. Alfred rolled his eyes and gave a defeated sigh as he began to clean up the table.

"_Moving out? But I hadn't had dese--" _"_now!" _batman shouted, his anger echoing across the cave. _"Okay geez what got into you?"_ peter put on his mask and followed after batman. "_I'll_ _give you a take-home when you get back master parker!" _Alfred shouted after him.

Spider-man trailed after batman, they walked into a deeper and darker part of the cave.

"_Where are we?" _spider-man looked around, they were in some kind of garage or something, batman didn't reply he just went up to a small console and pressed a yellow button. A loud whirring sound rang all around the cave. Spider-man was startled by the noise and the movement of unseen machines, hidden lights suddenly illuminated the area, his jaw dropped at the sight before him. Hundreds of bat-themed vehicles littered the place, a myriad collection of bat-mobiles were parked in mobile pads while three bat-planes and a bat-copter hanged from stations high up in the cave-ceilings and spider-man even caught glimpse of a bat-submarine in the distance.

"_woweee, can I be your side-kick?" _spider-man said in a child-like voice.

"_shut-up and get in" _batman ordered as he jumped in the front seat of a tank-like bat mobile.

Spider-man didn't even dare to respond let alone joke. It was clearly obvious from the tone of the dark-knight that from here on it was going to be serious and grim.

Spider-man sat in the secondary seat behind batman.

The bat-mobile hummed to life and immediately they sped towards the exit and out into the open woods, they drove through a hidden road that linked into gotham highway. It was a long and quiet trip. The pouring rain was the only thing that could be heard.

Suddenly the stillness was broken by the dark-knight. "_once we enter the gotham city proper, your going to get out and swing from there on, but you will maintain line of sight with me as we move around the city and track down these criminals and catch them_" batman looked at the front mirror to see spider-man nod obediently.

"_I want this quick and efficient, I want it to end by midnight" _batman said grimly.

"_Midnight? That means we only have two hours left" _spider-man complained.

"_Then we'll have to use our heads" _batman said then with a small grin added "_I'm sure you know how to do that" _

Their ride through the highway was undisturbed, spider-man was surprised by the fact that the other cars didn't seem to be bothered by the sight of the bat mobile speeding past them. spider-man was intrigued by the notion that the batman was an accepted part of everyday life in gotham.

A small t.v. screen on the console of the bat-mobile suddenly bleeped. Batman pressed a button on the console. A face appeared on the screen, it was oracle. "_Bruce we have a problem" _oracle said her face filled with concern. "_What is it?" _batman inquired.

"_Its his rogues_" oracle pointed at spider-man from the screen. "_They're attacking Arkham Asylum" _batman and spider-man remained silent, the storm just got darker…


	3. Open the box

**Chapter three- Open the box…**

**Akham Asylum- Main gate**

"_Hold him back dammit!" _The swat commander barked to his troopers. They already lost three good men and yet nothing was slowing down the animal-themed thug in front of them.

Rhino just smiled at the pathetic attempts by the gotham police to gun him down. Surely they would have known by now that small-arms were useless against him. He charged harmlessly through a police car, it was the third barricade he had destroyed. The swat team watched in horror as he closed in on his target…Arkham's main gate.

"_Shoot to kill! Shoot to kill!" _The commander shouted desperately. Whole clips were unloaded at rhino but nothing seemed to drop him, he kept the wide grin all the while.

"_Come on men, he's only one guy!" _The commander screamed. The grin on rhino's face turned into a giant smile as he burst into laughter. "_You gotham cops are worse than the morons in new york, what makes ya think I'm alone?" _Rhino remarked happily as he lifted the last barricade away from the swat troopers. _"I'm just making room for my buddies" _he said as he tossed the swat van at the main gate.

The gate exploded into a huge fiery ball. The police officers crowded behind the gate ran for cover as the entrance to arkham was stripped bare.

"_Lieutenant, what's our status?" _asked an angry and exasperated Jim Gordon.

"_We just lost the swat team sir, all we have left are regular officers" _the lieutenant answered nervously.

"_Great, I'm sure are boys in blue are up to the task" _Jim Gordon said sarcastically.

"_batman's late so we'll need to keep this clown busy, have them send another swat team to reinforce our position and some air support to minimize our loses" _Jim Gordon ordered, always the first one on the case, James 'Jim' Gordon was known for his bravery, quick-thinking and genuine concern for the lives of his men. One of the few public figures in gotham respected and trusted by batman.

Rhino effortlessly swatted police officers away from him. Ten blue-shirts lay unconscious across the asylum courtyard. Jim Gordon watched as the brutish man neared him. Suddenly a helicopter gunship flew overhead rhino, the gunner pelting him with a 50 caliber heavy machine gun. "_Our 50 cals were re-modified to take down killer-croc, I doubt you'll last long" _Jim shouted out to rhino. Rhino looked at Gordon with a menacing stare. "_Air-strike huh? Don't worry chief I brought back-up" _rhino replied as his glare turned into a mocking stare.

The helicopter suddenly exploded into smithereens, Jim Gordon fell back from the force of the explosion. "_Sorry I'm late, bumped into some punks back there" _shocker said as he lowered his fists.

James Gordon ran towards the entrance to arkham, he entered into a swat-filled front lobby. "_Boys, get ready there's two of them" _he said to the troopers posted intently all around the lobby. During the earlier part of rhino's attack, Gordon had ordered three swat-teams to be secretly sent to the asylum through a back-entrance. The first two teams were distributed all across the asylum to make sure that the inmates were discouraged from taking advantage of the situation. The third team, the one armed with hi-tech weaponry, was ordered to guard the front lobby to make sure nothing entered the asylum itself.

"_Red team how's everything in the east wing" _James Gordon said through the walkie-talkie. _"_Everything's_ clear here sir" _replied a gruff voice, _"we're ready for anything that will--" _the trooper became quiet. "_What's wrong?_" Gordon said to the walkie-talkie as he paced across the room. There was light static on the other side of the line. _"I don't know sir, all of a sudden the hallway started to fog up, must be something wrong with the ventilation" _James Gordon scratched his head in puzzlement, arkham's ventilation system was one of the most sophisticated ones in the city, designed to prevent any of the inmates from tampering with it, the vents were made to expect the worst.

"_Check the filter system console, there's one for each floor, look for it in the hallway" _Gordon ordered. There was a brief pause then the trooper reported back. "_Sir, according to the console, ventilations fine, no traces of any foreign gases in it." _The trooper explained nervously. _"Then what the hell's going on there?" _Gordon demanded angrily.

"_I don't know sir I'll double che—what was that! Did you see that!?" _the trooper shouted surprisingly. Gordon's eyes widened "_captain, what's happening there!" _Gordon yelled to the receiver. _"Don't know sir, some kind of dome shape object or something, hiding behind the fog" _the trooper said. Gordon was about to order the captain to search it when suddenly he heard gunfire echo from the two-way. Gordon tried to yell, tried to re-establish communication but no one on the other side seemed to reply, every body was busy shooting at some unknown aggressor.

**East wing- main hallway**

Captain Jones of the red team barked orders furiously; his men emptied salvos at the mysterious assailant who, just moments ago, tossed a frag grenade at two troopers. Shotgun shells fell on the floor, assault rifles cried across the hallway, the swat team shot blindly into the fog hoping to take down whatever was hiding in it.

After one last salvo the swat troopers lowered their guns, the captain went near the fog to examine it, suddenly a pillar of fire extended from the fog, the flame engulfed the captain instantly burning him to a crisp. The other troopers immediately opened fire, but they too were burned by the pillar of flame. The hallway filled with the smell of cooked flesh. The fog cleared up and out walked the enigmatic Mysterio!

"_Ever watched 'back draft'? Yeah that was my special effects, pretty real huh?" _mysterio said to the corpse mockingly as he step on the scorched body.

"_Mysterio here, I've secured the east wing, how are you schmucks doin' there in the west wing?" _Mysterio said on his COM link. "_Pretty good numb nuts"_ replied a squeaky voice. "_Yeah well it's up to Dillon and hyde to get things going" _mysterio added.

James Gordon and the blue team just sat there in the lobby in shock, red team and green team were both wiped off the map by unseen forces and now arkham was left with little or no defenders. The staff all cowered in the safety of the heavily fortified basement complex. The hope of reinforcements arriving was bleak; three helicopters filled with back-up were all destroyed by the shocker while rhino made it impossible for ground units to liberate arkham.

But Gordon was relieved by the fact that no matter what happened; the mercenaries trying to attack gotham wouldn't be able to free the prisoners. Just a month ago, gotham upgraded it's security system, all the cell doors were reinforced by a specialized invisible energy barrier that kept the cells from being opened with force. Even high-grade explosives would be useless against the cell doors.

All Jim worried about now was when batman would come, he doubted that the criminals knew how to disable the energy barrier; its generator was hidden in the lowest parts of the asylum and guarded by advanced Wayne-tech security robots. He'd liked to see the thugs get past them.

**Arkham sub-level 06 **

The last of the wayne-tech robots fell to floor, short-circuited by huge amounts of electricity. Electro and Mr. Hyde stood there tentatively, gazing around the sub-level area.

"_See anything that look like a generator?" _Mr. Hyde growled.

"_No but I could feel for one" _electro replied with a smile. He closed his eyes and searched the place for any high concentration of electrical energy. Electro's ability to absorb and project electricity allowed him to be one with all nearby electrical fields and devices. It was simply a matter of focus, something he had in reasonable reserves.

"_I found it"_ he said as he opened his eyes.

"_Where?" _hyde said with an animalistic tone.

"_Hidden behind that metal wall in front" _electro pointed towards a thick looking wall ahead of them.

"_Consider it smashed" _Hyde replied as he walked towards the wall. He clasped his fists together and swung them at the wall, he hit the wall again and again. Soon dents began to form on the wall. Hyde applied more force and kept on hitting. After a few more whacks, a big black dent was on the wall, electro stepped forward and motioned hyde to move away.

"_Allow me" _electro said. He placed his hands on the dent and started to heat it up with electricity, the extreme energy melted the weakened spot on the wall, soon enough a large hole gaped at them.

"_Whatever this hole is made up of it sure isn't vibranium" _electro joked.

"_Or adamantium" _Hyde added.

A triangular metallic power generator leered at them; it was covered in neon blue circuitry and was adorned by several sophisticated regulators. Electro's jaw dropped at the sight of the scientific device, he had never seen anything quite like it.

"_I didn't finish high school so hacking it is out of the question" _electro flicked his hand at the notion.

"_Then break it!" _Mr. Hyde shouted angrily as a long line of drool fell from his mouth

"_Well so much for being a scientist" _electro slapped his forehead sarcastically. he didnt dare try to fool around with the generator, for fear of setting off it's fail-safes.

"_I'm gonna ask for some help" _electro said as he pulled a small earphone from his pocket and inserted it into his right ear. He lightly tapped it so that it would turn on.

"_Hey butthead, come down to the sub-basement will ya? We're in a fix here" _electro demanded.

Electro and Hyde waited for their silent partner. He arrived minutes later, his walk professional, his face stern and his patience limitless. He went towards the generator, ignoring electro and Mr. Hyde; he operated the console with ease. It wasn't long before he announced to them that he had broken through the last firewall. They looked at him with wonder as he smoothly de-activated the security systems.

He gave one last look at the console screen then he pressed the release key.

"_It's done" _he said as he walked away towards the elevator.

Mr. Hyde and electro looked at each other then smiled.

"_alright!" _electro shouted raising his arm in triumph.

"_They're free!" _

**Arkham- front courtyard **

Shocker and rhino stood defiantly at the news helicopters. They waved their hands, yelled foul things and made other ridiculous gestures to get attention.

"_hey shocker, I think these dopes want us to give them a show" _rhino said to shocker.

"_Yeah I think you're right, didn't mysterio say that the last swat team is hold up in the lobby?" _He replied to rhino.

"_Yeah, lets say we bust that door down and clean this place up for good" _rhino suggested enthusiastically.

"_Yeah, lets!" _Shocker cracked his knuckles with glee at the very thought.

Rhino started charging towards the door while shocker readied his gauntlets.

Rhino was halfway towards the door when, out of nowhere, a batarang flew in and hit his leg. It exploded into a mass of very sticky, very thick gooey substance. Rhino fell down, he tried to stand up but found his legs tightly glued together.

"_What the crap is this!" _he shouted angrily as he tried to pull the substance off his legs.

Shocker was surprised by what had happened, he immediately turned towards the news choppers and raised both his fists.

"_Time to send a message to these dickheads that we're serious" _he said threateningly.

Shocker was about to blast the thing out of the air when suddenly a long line of webbing hit his hands.

"_No!, it can't be!" _Shocker yelled as he struggled to get his hands free of the webbing.

"_Oh yes it is_!" Spider-man shouted back as he swung towards shocker.

"_And I brought a friend" _he remarked casually as he dive-kicked shocker to the ground.

Rhino finally freed himself of the goo, he got up to see a dark creature looming towards him.

If he didn't know any better it was a bat. A giant bat…


	4. Liberation

**Chapter four- Liberation **

Spider-man threw a right hook at shocker's face, the punch landed with tremendous force and speed that shocker staggered back in pain. He raised his left fist and fired a salvo of blasts.

Spider-man dodged them with flawless precision; each jump placed him closer to shocker. Shocker hurled a charged upper-cut at spider-man; he merely twisted sideways avoiding the blow and countered with a quick jab to shocker's cheek.

"_You know what's funny" _rhino asked batman as he flexed his large muscles. "_They warned about me, told me to steer clear of the batman" _he remarked with a mocking tone.

"_I told them, nah it's the other way around, he's the one who should avoid me!" _rhino charged towards batman, 350 pounds of raw power racing towards him, ready to wipe his puny existence away.

Batman remained calm even with the grey behemoth lunging towards him. His right hand sneakily traversed his utility belt, feeling for a batarang to grab. He wasn't just looking for any batarang, he was after the specialized adhesive charges he brought with him. The adhesive charges used an oxygen-based catalyst, even small amounts of air would allow the adhesive glue to spread all over the target's body, encasing him in a cement like mold. Exactly what the dark knight needed in this situation.

He managed to pull two from the back of his belt but he kept his right hand hidden in his cape, surprise would be his prime weapon against the rhino's fury.

Rhino lowered his head to ramming position as he neared batman, soft chuckle of excitement left his mouth as he was inches away from flattening his prey.

All of a sudden batman rolled to his left just as rhino had gotten within striking distance. Rhino continued on, lost in a mad battle frenzy.

_Now _batman thought. He swiftly turned around at the still-in-motion rhino; he took aim and with unerring accuracy threw the batarang towards him. The batarang flew with great speed and momentum and hit the back of rhino's knee, exploding into goo.

The rhino was halted by the adhesives but immediately began tearing it away. Batman had anticipated that and readied a second batarang. He threw it quickly and watched as the batarang exploded on rhino's shoulder while he was bent down attending to his adhesive-creamed leg. The rhino was now trapped and the adhesives froze his legs and spread to cover his whole body.

Only his face was still visible, the rest was covered with a hard silvery material.

Batman walked towards rhino, clenching his fist as he approached.

"_You really think that this is going to hold me?" _the rhino yelled at him. As he struggled to break free. Batman saw small cracks forming all around the adhesive cocoon. He had to act fast.

"_I hope you got some other lame toys left because I'm not done playing yet!" _rhino screamed as the cracks began to develop quickly.

Batman didn't say anything; instead he just lifted his arm and launched a haymaker at rhino's face. The power gauntlets he was wearing enhanced his blows, the punch connected with rhino's face, sending a mass of blood and some yellow teeth spraying across the grass. The rhino's head bobbed up and down like a jack-in-the-box. He was evidently out of the picture but batman didn't want to take any chances, he launched a one-two combo at rhino, virtually bloodying the already-beaten brute. One thing is for sure, solid food is a 'hell no' for rhino.

Shocker was on the defensive, he had begun to focus his energy blasts into a 360 degree arc just to keep spider-man away from him. Rhino was nowhere to be seen and his options for winning the fight were becoming smaller.

"_Just give-up shocker and maybe I'll tell the bat to go easy on you" _spider-man offered whimsically as he shot web-balls that nearly hit shocker.

"_You can kiss my ass, spider-freak!" _Shocker replied, trying to sound tough. He emitted a couple of large shock-waves that knocked spider-man to the ground.

Spider-man tried to get up but shocker downed him again with another powerful blast.

"_Don't worry this will be over quick" _shocker mocked as he raised both his fists. His gauntlets hummed loudly as he charged up for a killing blow.

Shocker was about to fire when a batarang hit his left wrist, wedging deep into his flesh.

"_Ahhh! Ahhh! Crap!!" _he screamed as he tried to tug the thing off his wrist but the pain was too great for him to even grip it. Out of nowhere batman blindsided him with a kick to the face. Shocker fell to ground and started convulsing in pain. He didn't look too good.

"_Thanks for the hand, is he gonna be okay?" _Spider-man inquired as he slowly got up.

"_He'll be fine, it's a small wound, I've dealt worse" _batman replied non-chalantly.

"_I also disrupted the energy flow in his suit, he wont be able to bother us even if he wanted to" _batman explained while he stared at a pain-racked shocker squirming on the ground.

James Gordon watched out the window with a smile of relief. The swat team behind him whispered nervously, they were the lone survivors of a 33 man task force that was sent to safe-guard arkham from the mercenary's attacks.

James Gordon watched as four police cars and a swat van entered the courtyard's drive-way. Batman and spider-man walked towards the front-door of arkham.

"_Glad you could make it" _Gordon said grinning as he opened the door for them.

"_I had a feeling you'd be in the thick of things"_ batman replied shaking hands with Gordon.

"_Brought a friend with me" _batman stated as he motioned spider-man to approach.

"_Nice to meet ya" _spider-man greeted as he shook hands with Jim Gordon.

"_Spider-man has history with these mercenaries back in New York, he can help us send them home" _batman explained with a serious tone.

Jim Gordon raised his eyebrows questioningly _"New York? What are they doing here in our city then?" _

Spider-man was about to give his opinion when batman cut him off prematurely.

"_I don't know but that's the least of our worries, right now we need to secure the inside of arkham, its quite obvious what they're planning to do, but even with all the upgrades the facility's had I don't want to take any chances" _batman remarked grimly.

"_Good, my boys will accompany you" _James Gordon pointed to the re-invigorated swat team standing ready behind him

"_We posted two other teams within the asylum wings but lost radio contact with them twenty minutes ago" _Gordon's head lowered at the tragic memory of his men.

"_Any idea who?" _Batman asked in a more sympathetic tone.

"_No, so be careful both of you" _Jim warned to the two super-heroes.

Gordon exited the lobby to coordinate the police units swarming the asylum premises.

Batman and spider-man looked at each other.

"_We split up" _batman ordered sternly.

"_I'll take the swat team and lead them through the west wing" _batman stated as he motioned for the swat leader to come to him.

"_And I'll go solo and clear the east wing" _spider-man finished.

"_Yeah, but in case things get rough use this" _batman pulled out a small receiver from his belt and handed it to spider-man.

"_Place it in your ear, it'll automatically go-online once it detects your brain-waves" _

Batman explained coolly.

"_Sure, good luck then, although I'm the one whose gonna need it" _spider-man grumbled as he entered the east-wing.

"_Ready when you are sir" _the swat leader reminded batman perkily.

Batman motioned the team to follow close behind him.

Batman briskly entered the west wing. There was faint laughter echoing from it.


	5. The Abyss smiled

**Chapter five- The abyss smiled**

**East wing- The ward for 'long-term' patients **

Spider-man was worried, his spider-sense had started ringing wildly the moment he entered the east wing's hallway. It was such a weird and frightening place, old Victorian-looking walls mingled with modern technology, portraits of creepy-looking doctors looking down on him and a lingering terror of the macabre and the grotesque hung around him. He felt like an actor in some Alfred Hitchcock movie, arkham is like something out of the twilight zone, eerie, dark, disturbing yet enlightening in some twisted way.

He strolled down the hallway, passing several vacant offices and store rooms. The area was quiet as he passed by, as if all life had fled the damned hospital. He stopped in front of a brown wooden double door. Above it were the words '_Amadeus Arkham hall' _engraved in faded gold.

"_What's in the Amadeus arkham hall?" _spider-man said on his receiver.

"_That's where they keep the serious cases" _batman replied with a dark tone.

"_Watch out for the inmates in the cells, don't entertain them, no matter what they may say, and don't look any of them in the eye I promise you, you wont be able to handle it" _batman warned gravely.

Spider-man's heart throbbed harder at the thought of the horrors that awaits him in the next room. But he had a duty to fulfill, for with great power comes great responsibility, an oath that he took to heart.

He opened the door, the stale air kissed him on the face, this hall was different. The scent of urine and crap filled the air, childish giggling and manic laughter sounded across the walls. He was now in the realm of the insane.

"_Harry! Harry! Is that you Harry? _Shouted an inmate from his cell, "_I have your wand here with me!" _he waved a shiny fork, _"problem is, I can't do magic with it" _he twirled it desperately as if expecting a miracle to ensue.

Spider-man shuddered. He kept on walking as he avoided the temptation to peer into the cells; he was here to make sure that the patients were secure. His spider-sense was a volcano of deadly caution, something was amiss here.

"_Heads—you die, tails—you live" _a raspy voice threatened. Spider-man paid no attention to the morbid suggestion. He walked past another cell.

"_Fear is the road to salvation, walk it with pride" _the scarecrow remarked passionately. He began reciting some lines from Edgar Allan Poe but spider-man quickened his pace.

"_will you etch your life on my skin?" _zsasz asked from his cell as he stood up and displayed on the door window the numerous notches that adorned his skin, spider-man knew what those scars symbolized---zsasz's victims.

"_Hey! Care for a riddle?" _Edward enigma inquired enthusiastically as he tried to draw spider-man's attention. But spidey didn't even throw him a glance. He moved along, inspecting the hallway for any signs of danger.

Spider-man passed several cells he was near the end of the hall when he heard a strange cry from one of the cells.

"_Help! Please help me! Oh god he's got me" _begged a small girlish voice. Spider-man tried to resist the urge to scrutinize the cell; batman had warned him about that, but what if it wasn't some lunatic impersonating a nurse? What if there was a life at stake? Would he take that risk? Could he take that risk? In his whole history as a hero, he always fought for the people, tonight was no different.

"_Batman" _he radioed in. _"there's a hostage in one of the cells, screw caution, I'm getting her out" _he said intrepidly. His spider-sense had been going off since he entered the wing, maybe that's what it was trying to tell him, that the inmates had taken a hostage.

He walked towards the cell door and ripped it off without ease. _"Don't worry miss I'm here to save you" _he said heroically. To his amazement it was Gwen Stacy, alive and well, standing in the cell in her black burial gown. So that's why the voice sounded so familiar to him.

"_Oh peter, please don't let green goblin take me, please don't" _she begged as she opened up her arms to embrace him.

Spider-man fell down on his knees; the site was too overwhelming for him to bear. All around the hallway the cells opened one by one. Maniacs of the highest order pored out; happy that they're little game of charades had been successful.

They were free even before batman and spider-man entered the asylum, they had been freed thirty minutes ago. It was all a trap, an elaborate scheme made by the inmates, made to surprise one person---made to catch the bat.

Spider-man slowly stood up, realizing the trickery he had fallen into. He raised a shaky finger at Gwen Stacy,.

"_You're not Gwen, she's been dead for a long time, but that was a really stupid move buddy" _he remarked angrily as he clenched his fists and prepared to pummel the impersonator. The gwen impersonator smiled, then suddenly morphed into the visage of a man, a man wearing a skull-mask.

"_You have interesting nightmares" _doctor destiny said with sadistic glee. _"quite eye-catching is this particular one" _he murmured as he raised his hands in the air. Before spider-man could react, venom and green-goblin materialized into existence. They had menaced spider-man's mind from the moment he had encountered them, now he faced artificial versions of them, courtesy of doctor destiny.

The dream venom lunged forward and tackled spider-man, he fell into the hallway. He tried to retaliate with a leg-sweep but found the dream venom and goblin nowhere to be seen.

A multitude of feet immediately stomped his face.

"_Men of gondor, of rohan! Show no quarter! Hahahahahaha1" _joker laughed hysterically as he watched a deranged mob of lunatics dog-pile spider-man. Two-face and hugo strange stood calmly as zsasz, tweetle-dee and tweetle-dum, mad hatter and a myriad of frenzied maniacs hurled blow after blow on spider-man.

Spider-man tried to fight back but found to his dismay that majority of the inmates possessed exceptional strength and coordination despite the fact that they were mentally handicapped. He was slowly fading to sleep…

**West wing- the ward for 'enhanced patients' **

"_Spider-man! Spider-man! Respond immediately!" _batman shouted on his receiver. Genuine fear gripped the dark knight, his ally had earlier reported on a hostage crisis in the east wing, before he could protest spider-man rushed to the scene. Next thing he knew, there was horrific laughter and the sound of a fight, spider-man didn't reply anymore after that.

"_Captain, can you dispatch three of your men to the east wing?" _batman asked sternly. His question was more of an order.

"_Off course batman, anything to help your---" _the captain stopped in the middle of his sentence, his eyes widened at batman, he tried to mouth a word but instead let out a small whimper. _"What's wrong?" _batman inquired as the captain stared at him. The captain rolled his eyes and with one final gasp fell into batman's arms.

Batman examined the captain's back and saw bullet holes on them.

"_the shooter's using a silencer!" _one of the swat officer's shouted to the rest of the team, suddenly a bullet hit him on the head, blood sprayed across the wall as batman pulled the dead trooper down. The other troopers swerved to the side and opened fire. Batman with his incredible strength pulled the two corpses towards the corner.

One by one the troopers were being gunned down by the unknown assailant, batman hid behind the corner calling for the rest of the swat team to fall back with him, but they didn't hear him they were lost in a frenzy of blood as they fired blindly into the dark corridor in front of them. Some of them put on their night vision goggles to see into the lightless corridor, but the attacker targeted them first and killed them with remorseless shooting.

Batman analyzed the identity of their attacker; the assailant definitely had a Para-military background with experience in urban combat. Bane? Impossible, he is currently incarcerated in another country, the odds of him being responsible for this attack was a million to one.

Silence filled the hall as the last of the troopers fell to the floor. Batman heard the thumping of boots as his opponent neared him; he readied a batarang to disarm the gunner. The walking stopped.

"_I'd take you on with ease" _a voice called out in a southern accent. _"But your buddies wanna play with ya" _the man added, batman heard the sounds of doors creaking open and he knew what those were.

Batman turned away from the corner and blindly tossed the batarang at his target. Much to his surprise the projectile hit the thick skin of killer croc; croc pulled out the batarang and crushed it with his fist. Batman watched in horror as his other foes amassed behind killer croc; Mr. Freeze, man-bat, clay-face, poison ivy, killer-moth, amygdala, and scores of other super-powered foes. Batman tried to punch killer croc but clay face shot a pillar of mud at his arms, binding them together. Killer croc lifted his huge fist and lowered it at batman, the force of the blow cracked the armoring of batman's mask. Batman fell to his knees from the incredible pain. Man-bat and killer-moth stepped forward and started dispensing punishment to the dark-knight. Poison ivy and Mr. Freeze left for the holding room to get their personal effects.

Batman struggled to get a batarang but man-bat seized batman's arm with the talons on his feet, batman let out a shriek of pain as blood oozed out of the rips on his gauntlet.

Killer-moth spat acid on batman's chest; it melted the yellow symbol and slowly chewed its way through the armor until finally batman felt a stinging pain on his chest. Amygdala yanked batman's cape, catapulting the dark-knight towards the wall. There was a sickening thud as batman fell to the ground, he winced in pain and held his bruised ribs. Killer croc picked him up and carried him high.

"_Let's get out of here" _he growled, he then tossed the beaten batman at the double-doors of the west wing.

Batman crashed through the doors and rolled limply to the ground. The dark knight has fallen.

"_Ah freedom, how I longed for your touch" _an armored Mr. Freeze said with a smile as he walked towards the lobby. The others followed him towards the exit.

**East wing**

Spider-man was naked save for his mask which was still on him and a blanket wrapped around his waist to cover his private parts. He hung unconscious upside down from the ceiling. By some sick luck, the inmates had found a way to hang him from the ceiling fan using only bed-sheets, but before they did that they tortured him first; they didn't take off his mask but they tore the rest of his costume away using pieces of broken glass and their own teeth.

Spider-man had been mutilated. A smiley face was drawn on his stomach with his own blood. The inmates were gone now, some choosing to leave the asylum while others went deeper into the facility looking for more victims to terrorize.

Both heroes were broken and defeated, utter madness prevailed.

**Arkham courtyard**

Jim Gordon waited impatiently for any reply from his swat team or batman. The radio was dead silent. Forty-five men ,by far the largest task-force ever assembled, watched nervously for any signs of trouble within the asylum. Worst comes to worse they were going to have to storm the asylum with lethal force, Gordon hoped it wouldn't come to that.

A hand tapped his shoulder. _"chief, am I late" _the figure said

"_No, not at all nightwing, you're just in time for the finale" _Gordon replied not even looking back.

"_You brought help?" _he asked nightwing as he scanned the asylum with his binoculars.

"_Yeah, they're here with me" _he answered. Behind nightwing stood huntress and robin.

"_Just them?" _Jim said with a skeptical look.

"_yeah well the teen titans and the outsiders are busy, the league's handling something important and the avengers are out of the planet" _nightwing explained with a tired tone.

Jim Gordon shook his head. He brought out a blueprint of arkham and motioned for them to come close to him.

"_Okay batman and the spider guy took down two of the assailants; we have them in custody now, but reports indicate there are at least four other unknowns roaming around inside the asylum, they killed tow of my teams so we have to assume they're well-armed" _Gordon pointed to several locations on the blueprint.

"_Now I want you to assist a taskforce and le----" _before James Gordon could continue his plan a huge explosion rocked the front door of arkham. Two police officers went to investigate it only to be incinerated by a pillar of flame. Out of the asylum poured hundreds of deranged inmates with Mysterio, Electro, Mr. Hyde, Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, Scarecrow and Clay face leading the charge.

Nightwing braced himself. The war for gotham had begun…


	6. Men of Tomorrow

**Chapter six- Men of tomorrow**

**New York city- two months ago**

"_Funny, I always had the impression that you brought an umbrella with you everywhere you go" _

"_Were you always bald Wilson? Or did you do that to enhance your look?"_

"_Enough, Oswald, let us skip the pleasantries"_

"_If that's the case, then call me by my business name, penguin"_

"_And I, kingpin" _

Both crime-lords stared at each other from opposite ends of the table. They were here not just to discuss a deal they had made but also to discuss history in the making. The fall of the sister cities, the fall of New York and Gotham.

"_How are my weapons doing?" _kingpin asked with a deep voice as he drummed his fingers lightly.

Penguin brought out a folder from the briefcase lying in front of him. He tossed the folder over to kingpin. Kingpin read it and nodded slightly.

"_So the freeze rifles are the only set that's not complete yet?" _kingpin eyed penguin questioningly.

"_yes and that's why I haven't shipped you the merchandise, if you want your thugs to take this city, you'll need the freeze rifles, they're the best chance you've got of off-setting any obstacle" _penguin explained in a very sales-man like fashion.

"_Well I hope that the technology of arkham's finest is as good as you say it is" _kingpin replied sternly.

"_And I hope that with such colorful names like 'bullseye' and 'electro' Gotham city will fall to its knees" _he countered mockingly.

"_Oh don't worry about the professionals I signed to you, they'll do their job handsomely, especially the one called nitro, he'll give you all the boom you need" _kingpin commented happily.

It had been three months since they forged an alliance unlike any other; penguin was losing ground to batman in the war on crime while kingpin's numerous fronts and operations were being raided by the police with hundreds of his underlings going to jail.

Though they themselves were in no real threat, their interests were being mowed down by the combined might of police power and super-hero vigilantism.

To tip the scales in their favor, they approached one another with ammunition to trade.

Kingpin was the sole ruler of New York's criminal empire; he had total access to every super-powered mercenary in the city. While penguin assured the inmates of arkham that if they allowed him to mass-produce their deadly gadgetry, he would use the super-thugs kingpin had leased him, to break them out of arkham asylum. Both sides had so much to lose, and so much to gain.

One month had passed and now they were sharpening their talons for the opening kill.

Kingpin and penguin had gone to extreme lengths to create fail-safes in case their initial plans fail.

Both men had hired an extensive army of the greediest, most-talented lawyers in the east-coast to bail them out should the authorities trace all of this back to them. plus kingpin introduced two more extra safety mechanisms in their master plan. Both of whom stood outside the meeting room.

Someone knocked on the door. Penguin turned around to see who it was.

"_Ah that must be them!" _kingpin exclaimed as he stood up and walked towards the door.

"_Penguin, remember the two extra details I added into our contingency plan?" _kingpin inquired as he hid something behind his enormous back.

Penguin didn't reply he just gave a confounded look.

"_Well. Let me introduce them to you, gentlemen please enter" _kingpin said cheerily as he motioned for the two figures to enter.

Penguin stood up in complete awe at the sight of the 'extra details' kingpin brought before him.

"_Oswald, meet crossbones and the wizard" _

Somewhere in his gut, penguin felt that he had gotten more than he had bargained for.

**New York City- Now **

Kingpin stared out of the giant office window over-looking Manhattan, he could see smoke in the distant sky-line, armies of police and civilian helicopters filled the air, and random explosions erupted from time to time.

It was chaos, it was pandemonium at its height---it was the fruit of his labor.

"_Mr. fisk, the daily bugle wants your opinion on all the accusations against you in light of this crisis" _his lawyer said, interrupting the kingpin from his reflective state.

"_my answer is the same as before, I am not responsible for all this mayhem, those aren't my men running around the city armed with bizarre weaponry, I have never employed legions of street-gangs or super-powered criminals, I do not own any illegal businesses and last but not least, I am not the kingpin" _he replied with irritation.

He turned towards his lawyer and smiled. "_Now I want you to issue a statement of sympathy to the press and a check for five hundred thousand dollars to a notable humanitarian society involved with the current crisis" _he ordered.

His lawyer began penning the check. "_Which humanitarian society? Red Cross? Red crescent? Amnesty international? Sir we have over ten different organizations aiding in the containment of your 'master plan' so to speak" _the lawyer explained as he fidgeted with the pen.

Kingpin grabbed a glass from a nearby cabinet. _"Which group has the least impact on our operation" _he poured himself a glass of whiskey.

"_Well green peace, all their doing is protecting the trees and other environmental properties of the city" _the lawyer smirked.

"_Then write the check to them" _kingpin instructed as he took a sip.

The lawyer put the finishing touches on the check. He took out a notepad from his pocket.

"_And what's your statement of sympathy?" _the lawyer prepared himself for what would be a long statement.

"_First off, I want the city to know that I am personally hurt and shattered by these accusations linking me to the attacks" _kingpin scratched his chin as he thought of more things to say.

"_Second, you are to go on television representing me and you are to demand a printed apology from the daily bugle for all those kingpin stories they've been printing" _he said.

The lawyer took down the dictation with ease. _"I'll try to make them put the apology on front page" _he remarked. Kingpin smiled.

"_Finally, you are to announce to the press that I have decided to stay in new york regardless of the city's disposition" _

The lawyer stopped writing and stared at kingpin. "_Mr. fisk, you do realize that New York City has just been declared a danger zone by the white house, if things don't improve they plan to send in the National Guard" _the lawyer argued.

Kingpin gave a satisfied grin. _"Which is exactly why I must remain here, to ensure that the plan will not fail" _he said assertively. The lawyer gave a sigh of defeat and wrote down the last sentence.

Kingpin continued to stare at the city from his office while his lawyer made the necessary calls.

It was all going as planned, soon his men would take over the city then he could ready the next phase of his plan---the one penguin wasn't part of---the one involving his other partner.

Kingpin pointed a chubby finger at his lawyer and barked one last order.

"_And when you're done, get luthor on the phone!!" _

**Gotham city, the iceberg lounge- now **

"_Boss, our contacts in the press have just confirmed it; the inmates of arkham are out!" _

Penguin's aide shouted happily as she entered the club's private room. Penguin simply smiled.

"_Good, any losses to us?" _penguin asked, puffing on a cuban cigar.

"_Yeah, rhino and the shocker have been arrested, they're being transferred to the raft prison facility in New York" _the aide informed.

"_Good luck with that" _the penguin chuckled, his aide grinned. New York was the talk of the nation after swarms of hoodlums and street-gangs flooded the streets armed with deadly toys---toys provided for by the penguin.

Like everything else in life, the toys weren't for free and they didn't come cheap.

"_Are the three ready?" _penguin inquired, the aide merely gave him a look of affirmation.

"_I've given bullseye a list of our targets, nitro's posted in gotham square, and that crazy typhoid Mary is staying in an apartment over looking blackgate isle, just like you ordered" _the aide explained proudly, happy by the fact that she had served her employer well.

"_Good, I'm sure that skank can take care of blackgate prison for me, once the detainees there are free, the authorities will have their hands full" _penguin commented wryly.

"_Speaking of authority, what's the news on our resident flying rodent" _penguin asked with a harsh tone.

"_According to our sources, batman and one of his weird-looking partners entered the asylum after taking down rhino and shocker, they haven't been heard from since" _the aide wore a look of intrigue. Penguin knew better.

"_They must have fallen to the inmates" _penguin suggested rashly.

The aide looked at him incredulously. _"That easily?" _she sat himself on a chair in front of penguin.

"_I wouldn't under-estimate the lunatics locked up in arkham, some of them have gone as far as fighting the justice league" _penguin corrected his naïve aide.

The aide was about to say something when penguin cut her off.

"_Enough of that, I need you to do something for me" _penguin stood up from his chair and strolled around the room.

"_I want you to make a call to all the big names in the gotham underworld, mob bosses, cartel leaders, syndicate heads, crime families, everyone." _The penguin dictated with strong fervor.

The aide looked at him and saw the fire burning in his eyes.

"_What do you want me to say?" _she asked penguin with a serious tone.

The penguin stopped in his tracks and looked at the aide then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This move was bold, it was going to redefine everything that he had achieved in gotham city, best of all no one could stop him, after all, it was legal.

"_you are to announce to them that I am creating a giant corporate entity, so large that we can expect a slot in the stock market, unfortunately I don't have that kind of money, hence they are going to sell me their assets so that I can take over it and make it a part of my company" _penguin explained.

The aide stroked her red hair. _"Oswald, you expect the whole criminal underground to sell you their rackets?" _she bit her lip at the very idea.

"_No sweetcheeks, I only want their fronts, the ones they've invested so much cash into just to make it look legal" _penguin corrected humorously.

The aide shook her head in disbelief. _"With all due respect, the underworld needs those fronts otherwise they'll run the risk of their rackets being discovered by the cops" _she argued intelligently.

"_Like I give a crap, listen honey, my offer is simple, they can keep their rackets but I take their fronts" _penguin waved his hands hysterically as he stated his point.

"_And, make it clear that I'm only buying what I can afford" _penguin said smugly.

"_What are you offering them in return? I don't think this nightclub is worth your talk" _the aide replied with a sarcastic tone.

"_my dear, look around you, as of now I have the complete allegiance of gotham's worst psychopaths plus if that doesn't scare them well I'm sure they'll be convinced once bullseye is done with the list" _penguin retorted with a soft laugh.

The aide just stared at him in disbelief. Penguin went close to the aide and slowly stroked her smooth hair.

"_don't be sad my fair lady" _he said in a fake british accent.

"_I'll make it up to you" _he whispered in her ear. He planted a wet kiss on the aide's cheeks. he unbuttoned his tuxedo as he licked her neck.

Tomorrow will never be the same for both men---and both cities.


	7. Wild cards and Trump cards

**Chapter seven- wild cards and trump cards**

**Arkham asylum- now**

"_Get them off me!" _the police officer screamed as he frantically struggled to yank off the spiders enveloping him, the problem is he's the only one who can see them.

"_ahh! The lion's chasing me!" _another cop screamed as he ran away from nothing.

A squad of terrified officers abandoned their posts as they tried to escape from their fears come to life----fears come to life----fears…

"_There is nothing purer than the scream of a man in fear, it's just so---liberating" _scarecrow twirled his finger in the air as he watched the officers reel from the onslaught of his attack.

Scarecrow tinkered with his gloves; he increased the dosage of his fear gas.

"_Clear point A, our wall's been compromised!" _In the distance, swat troopers ran away as Mr. Freeze iced their barricade.

"_He's coming back for another hit! Turn left! Turn left!" _News choppers veered away from a tailing man-bat.

"_I can't breathe!" _A giant clayface showered a group of medics with fountains of slime.

"_My nose! Where the hell is my nose! God help me!"_ A swat commando ran around frenziedly, killer-croc had bitten half his face.

"_Your better than my wife could ever hope to be" _a police sergeant said dreamily as he closed in to kiss a smiling poison ivy, moments later he fell to the ground dead, lips smelling like orchids.

"_haha! Hahaha! haha---arrgh"_ a sniper fell from the tree he was perched on as he plummeted to his death, his face was frozen in a sick over-stretched smile.

Nightwing fought like it was his last night on earth. He held an inmate by the throat with his right hand and twisted the arm of another loony with his left, he pinned a downed inmate to the ground with his right boot.

"_There's too many of them!" _robin shouted as he smacked the head of two opponents with his quarter-staff. He somersaulted into the air to avoid an enormously large foe; he landed on the back of another inmate, knocking him out in the process.

"_How's huntress doing?" _nightwing asked as he kneed someone in the gut.

"_I don't know who to feel sorry for, her or the inmates" _robin replied, nightwing gave a small grin.

Huntress lived up to her namesake, against several large inmates, she proved to be the prime predator. A fat smelly man tried to charge at her but she countered with a palm strike to the face, breaking his nose. Two inmates rushed her at the same time, she merely rolled forward getting the two brutes to collide with each other, she immediately lunged towards a thin scrawny inmate and gave him a high-kick to the neck, the man fell down and began to vomit blood. Another enemy picked up a baton from a nearby police corpse and ran towards her, swinging the baton wildly, she ran towards him and caught his hand in mid-swing twisting it several times to the left effectively breaking the arm and grabbed the baton from him and whacked him across the jaw with it. The last opponent looked at her with fear then turned around to flee only to catch a boot to the face from nightwing.

"_Enjoying yourself?_ He said in a grave tone._ "The main-gate task force is suffering heavy casualties, lets reinforce it" _nightwing ordered. Huntress stared at him for a moment then nodded.

The main-gate task force was by far the largest of all the police teams Gordon sent into arkham. Twenty-three regular officers and fifteen-swat troopers all armed with weapons of the highest caliber. Now only seventeen was left of the thirty-eight man strike team.

"_One last push and we're off to the ballgames!" _joker yelled as he waved a severed arm like a sword at the enemy. He was even standing in a mock pose of napoleon.

Mysterio and Mr. Hyde led the assault against the main-gate force; they were backed by electro, tweetle-dee and tweetle-dum, killer-moth, film freak, two-face and forty 'normal' inmates.

The police fired blindly at the mad crowd rushing towards them, many of the inmates were hit but it didn't seem to bother them, a small effect of being insane.

Mysterio launched huge clouds of fog at the task-force while mr .hyde grabbed the attention of the shooters with his size, everything else fell in place for a massacre---or so the inmates thought.

**New York City, Harlem- Luke cage's flat**

"_Did you call everyone?" _matt said as he furnished his billy club with upgrades.

"_Yeah but the chances of us getting a full house looks bleak" _Luke replied as he watched the news.

"_So far who has given a full commitment?" _matt asked as he polished the clubs with a rag.

"_Well our best bets are Danny, marc spector and castle" _luke's face puckered at the very thought.

Daredevil stopped what he was doing and shook his head; the very idea was frightening to him.

"_Iron fist is fine by me, but moon knight and the punisher? We're suppose to discuss this whole 'gotham thing' and we can't do that when half the committee are lunatics" _daredevil shot back angrily.

"_Matt, with all due respect, marc and frank check out okay with me. This city would have fallen if those two just sat on the sidelines" _Luke explained calmly.

"_They're monsters luke, I don't like the way they handle criminals, its—its to--- its to inhumane" _daredevil said as he struggled to turn his anger into words.

"_Hey I'm not arguing with you on that, but sometimes you need monsters to fight monsters and gotham, has a lot of monsters, matt, a lot." _Luke stated coolly.

"_Well, hopefully we'll get more back-up and I don't have to contend with those two sociopaths" _matt said as his attention returned to the upgrading of his clubs.

"_Yeah, hopefully" _cage muttered to himself as he sat on the couch channel-surfing.

He searched for a news channel with some decent coverage of the situation in New York, something that they could use.

It was hopeless, every news group reported the same thing; hi-tech street violence raging across the city, law enforcement units are out-gunned, and the absence of the city's most iconic crime-fighter…spider-man.

_Were the hell was spidey_? Luke thought to himself. They called his apartment only to find out that Mary Jane and Aunt May had left the unit for a safer hide-out. The whole catastrophe was too difficult to diffuse without spider-man, he was the banner of every super-hero in the city, and with big-names like the avengers and the fantastic four out of the country every concerned citizen needed a beacon of hope to light the darkness.

Luke was about to turn the television off when he bumped into an interesting news flash.

"_Matt, hear this out, quick!" _luke yelled as he turned up the volume.

"_What now?" _daredevil said as he tuned his ears to the direction of the living room.

He didn't need a TV. but a lot of his close friends insisted on getting one, just as a form of entertainment for guests.

"_Listen to this!" _luke ordered excitedly as he watched the TV reporter begin his piece.

TV- _Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of gotham city, this is Andy Preen of the news report special. The video that was played to you moments ago is the latest update on the prison break-out taking place at the arkham asylum mental ward. It clearly shows nightwing, huntress and robin- three known vigilantes who frequently collude with batman, fighting alongside the gotham police, in an attempt to halt the four-hundred sixty five inmates who are trying to flee the asylum grounds. Chief among these inmates are several high-profile patients who have terrorized gotham city in the past, Mr. freeze, man-bat, killer-croc, poison ivy, the pedophile mad hatter, former district attorney Harvey dent now known as two-face, and the infamous mass-murderer who calls himself the joker and sports a clown motif. _

_We advise all citizens to stay in-doors until further notice and to barricade themselves in, should any suspicious events take place near your residence please call the gotham 911 hotline immediately._

_Finally, we have just ascertained the name of batman's mysterious partner who earlier aided him in a failed attempt to liberate the asylum. He is known as Spider-man, a costumed vigilante who operates in New York, gotham's sister city and economic rival, who is currently suffering a huge crime wave. Despite the fact that no word has been heard from either the batman or spider-man, sources say that both heroes are still inside the asylum itself, their current status is unknown._

_We give our sincerest prayers to both of them. Once again I am Andy preen, wishing you good luck and god bless. More updates will be reported later._

The news immediately switched to commercials.

Matt and luke just kept quiet, words couldn't begin to describe what was going through their heads right now.

"_How long for you to assemble a make-shift team" _daredevil asked as he searched for his costume.

"_With the three at our disposal? I'd say twenty minutes tops" _luke replied as he composed himself for the coming action.

"_Good, get danny and marc--- but not frank!" _daredevil declared sternly.

"_Fine, if it makes you happy, I won't" _luke said raising his arms in surrender.

"_The last thing we need is pissing off anybody from gotham because of punisher" _daredevil said as he gripped his club and prepared to exit out through the window.

Both men hurried off to gather their players.

Discussion was over…to gotham or hell!

**Arkham asylum- main gate **

Crossbones watched the battle with interest, he had been on many operations before, but nothing with a flavor and color like this. He observed the way nightwing fought, it was so graceful, more acrobat than brawler; nightwing mowed through his enemies like a ballet dancer, employing smooth but powerful blows. His boss, the red skull would have loved such a fine young man to work under him, nightwing would make such a powerful ally in their never-ending war against Captain America.

He also noticed that the inmates were slowly losing ground to the two other costumed fighters aiding nightwing, huntress and robin, not as great as nightwing but they complement him well.

_"Wizard, get ready, we might have to cut in to this dance" _crossbones informed his partner as he loaded his M4 colt commando rifle with a full clip.

_"I knew those inmates couldn't handle the situation, and electro and his colleagues aren't really making things any easier" _the wizard replied with a snobbish tone.

_"Why must I be so superior?" _wizard sighed to himself. _"This is clear evidence that the world should submit to me and not to reed Richards" _he added bitterly.

_"Yeah, yeah, save it for oprah wiz, ready your tech we're going in hard" _crossbones instructed as he gave one final adjustment to his rifle.

_"I'm good to go, ready when you are" _wizard announced to crossbones after tinkering with his armor.

"_Now" _crossbones growled.

The two men charged straight into the fray.

Wizard took to the air courtesy of the boosters on the soles of his boots, while crossbones strafed around in a commando fashion, shooting down all police officers in his sight.

Wizard threw several small disc-shaped flash bangs at a group of swat troopers; the explosions melted their retinas leaving them permanently blind.

Crossbones opened fire at a group of medics and firefighters; nothing makes a battle more exciting than collateral damage.

Robin saw crossbones and wizard and immediately ran towards crossbones.

_"Huntress, two unknowns have joined the fight, I'm taking one of them down, alert nightwing" _robin said as he ran towards crossbones.

_"nightwing, we've got two unknowns" _huntress said to nightwing as she elbowed an inmate in the face.

_"I know I see them too, where's robin?" _nightwing asked as he dodged a punch and countered his opponent with a hook to the ribs.

_"He went after the one with the automatic rifle, the guy in the skeleton mask" _huntress said while assisting an injured police officer.

"_He can handle him, my concern is the one flying around in the armored suit" _he remarked.

Robin sprinted towards crossbones trying to be as sneaky as possible. He was going to blindside crossbones with his staff.

Robin neared crossbones when suddenly crossbones turned towards him and fired a grenade from his rifle's grenade launcher. The grenade exploded into a small net mid-flight and enveloped robin.

Robin fell to the ground hard, he squirmed and struggled to break free from the net but soon found it impossible to move.

"_Saw you coming from a mile away kiddo" _crossbones said as he stood in front of him.

_"Built these nets to trap captain America, I doubt you'll break free any time soon" _he said as he watched robin attempting to get free of the net.

_"but just in case you do, I can't take no chances" _crossbones raised the butt of his rifle and landed it on robin's face, he raised it for a second time and then a third then a fourth, soon he had lost count of how many times he had been whacking the young hero.

When he stopped, robin was a bleeding mess. His nose was hinged to the right, his lower jaw hanged gingerly and blood poured out of his ears.

Crossbones gave him one last look and walked away.

Nightwing and huntress rolled around, avoiding the plasma beams wizard fired at them. They had confronted the tech-themed villain but soon found to their dismay that the wizard was no easy foe.

He had unleashed an arsenal of ultra high-tech cyber weaponry against them. They were ill-prepared to tackle an enemy who frequently sparred with the likes of the fantastic four.

"_That's it I'm using lethal force!" _huntress screamed as she took out her infamous crossbow and took aim. Nightwing could only watch.

_"Eat titanium arrow-head, creep!" _she shouted as she fired the crossbow.

Wizard gave a cocky grin and released a small disintegrator pellet from his wrist. The pellet intercepted the arrow and detonated with a small green burst. Dust fell from the air.

_"uh-oh" _huntress muttered as she stared at the wizard.

Wizard floated in the air, his hands across his shoulders in an arrogant pose. He pressed a small button on his armor. A flash of white light escaped his helmet.

_"Huntress, move!" _nightwing leaped forward and yanked her out of the way.

The white light hit the ground and gave a small explosion, the smoke cleared to reveal a small crater.

_"Surrender to me and I may reconsider your demise" _wizard declared cockily.

_"Reconsider this!" _a voice from behind shouted.

Wizard turned around only to have his face bashed in with a Billy club.

He swayed wildly in the air. When he finally regained control of his movements, a car door flew towards him; the door hit him in the chest sending him falling to the ground.

"_Luke, you do realize that was a police car's door you just threw at him" _

"_Well I guess that means your loaning me the cash to pay it off then?" _

"_Like I have choice" _

_"Hey matt, it's nightwing and huntress look" _

Nightwing and huntress lay on the ground in pain; nightwing heard a familiar voice as it asked him if he was okay.

He opened his eyes to see daredevil, luke cage and moon knight staring down on him.

_"Hey nightwing, you alright?" _daredevil asked as he offered him his hand.

Nightwing grabbed his hand and stood up.

_"I am now" _he said with a renewed spirit. The battle for arkham was nowhere near finished.

Round two had just begun…


	8. United Front

**Chapter eight – united front**

Batman lay beaten on the floor in the west wing of arkham. He suffered from major internal injuires, including bruised ribs. But other than that the fire in him wasn't snuffed out.

The dark knight lives to fight again.

He slowly raised himself off the floor; he winced in pain when he stood up on both of his feet. His body hurt like hell.

"_Spider-man? Spider-man are you there? Answer me" _he called out on his receiver, no reply. Whatever the situation, batman was alone, not that it really bothered him.

He dragged himself across the empty lobby hall. The place was a mess; it was obvious that the inmates had been here. He made his way to the entrance of the east wing.

Faint rustling sounds echoed from the other side of the door, batman readied his batarangs, he was in no condition for hand to hand combat.

He opened the door and made his way into the east wing, he walked briskly towards the Amadeus arkham hall but paused from time to time to regain his strength, the mere fact that he was able to move in his current condition was a testament to his greatness.

He entered the Amadeus arkham hall and poised himself for any threat that might encroach upon him. The sight that would greet him was far worse than any inmate attack.

The doorway was half-open but batman could see the horror that lay before him, it was a naked, mutilated and unconscious spider-man hanging upside down in front of him.

The inmates had used bed-sheets to tie the web-slinger and hang him upside down from the ceiling fan. He also noticed that spider-man had several lacerations and gashes on his body; the joker's doing, no doubt.

Batman didn't have the physical strength to get him down from his position, given the state his body is in, so instead he launched a batarang at the bed-sheets holding spider-man up.

The batarang ripped through the sheets with ease, sending spider-man to plummet to the ground. Luckily batman had enough strength to rush towards him and catch him before he hit the floor.

Batman felt a sharp stab of pain hit his side as he struggled to hold spider-man, he couldn't worry about that when the life of his friend was in the balance.

He placed his hand on spider-man's neck, there was a pulse but very faint, batman knew he had to do something before that faint pulse went dead. Spider-man had been hanging from the ceiling for quite some time; he had lost a lot of blood, luckily for him his powers kept him from dying.

Batman rummaged his utility belt for something useful, after a few moments, he pulled out a small breather. He wedged it into spider-man's nostrils. The breather was a military toxin aerosol designed by wayne-biocorp.

It carried a potent gas that was capable of boosting the body with fifty-eight different kinds of stimulants instantly rejuvenating the user and enhancing all bodily functions to optimal conditions. It was the military's own version of Gatorade except that it was an inhalant.

Spider-man's breathing began to speed up, batman took off spider-man's mask to help him breathe easier. Peter parker began coughing.

"_What hit me?" _he asked wearily.

"_half the lunatics in gotham, listen peter, your in bad shape, so I gave you a powerful inhalant toxin to boost your body, otherwise you would have slipped into a coma" _batman explained as he bandaged the gashes on Peter's body with torn bed-sheets.

"_Thanks, probably the only time I'm grateful someone gassed me" _spidey said with a weak grin.

"_we're going to get out of here but I need you to help me, I'm critically hurt in some parts of my body and I wont be able to defend myself" _batman warned as he put the finishing touches on spider-man's wounds.

"_You're going to be my muscle, I'll be your mind, I'll coordinate you to get both of us out safely" _batman instructed as he handed spider-man back his mask.

"_Fine, let's do this" _spider-man said as he wore his mask.

"_Okay, but cover yourself up first" _batman ordered. Spider-man looked at himself and realized that he was completely naked except for his mask.

"_Oh, right" _he said embarrassingly as he grabbed some nearby bed-sheets.

**Iceberg lounge- penguin's VIP room**

"_You know what has to be done, you know why you're here" _penguin said in a commanding tone.

"_For my plan to go full-swing, you have to deliver on your task" _he said as he lighted a cigar.

"_Your role is the most integral part of the puzzle; failure would make my whole deal with the kingpin pointless" _he warned gravely.

"_I know you're a pro, so don't disappoint me" _penguin lifted a finger towards him.

"_Don't worry, If there's one thing I can guarantee you it's that I…never…miss" _the man replied.

With that said, the man walked out of the room. The man is known as Bullseye, and he never misses.

**Gotham square**

"_Lunatics busting out of the asylum again, when you've lived here in gotham for sixty-years, that stuff tends to be normal" _the old man replied as he tore the bread into crumbs and threw it at the birds.

"_I've seen it all, no mans land, the dead rising up from their grave, giant fires plaguing the city and off course gotham's local hero—batman" _the old man said with a smile of satisfaction.

"_I ain't worried about the city, batman is always here to protect us, keep us safe from them fiends, and hey did I tell you the time I saw him standing on a rooftop?" _the old man said enthusiastically, the person responded with cold silence.

"_Well I can see that you tourists have no interest whatsoever in the beautiful history of our city, not like you'd understand it anyway" _the old man shot back bitterly.

This time it was the stranger's turn to speak.

"_Oh but I do love your city, especially this place, gotham square" _the stranger said soothingly.

"_Tell me, gramps, how many people walk here everyday to get to their destinations" _the stranger asked inquisitively.

"_Why, almost six-hundred pedestrians, at least that's the estimate I heard from the radio before." _The old man scratched his head in thought.

"_Six-hundred, not bad for a bang" _the stranger commented as he walked away.

"_Hey, what did you say your name was!" _the old man called out, but the stranger didn't answer him.

That was all the information Nitro needed.

**Wayne apartment complex**

_Black-gate Island is sooo beautiful, god I wish I was there. _Mary walker thought to herself as she looked out the apartment window dreamily.

_The calm waves, the golden beach, the magnificent hillsides, even with the black-gate prison complex there, the view is still fantastic._

Mary began to twitch and shake.

_Wait, prison? Prison complex? Maximum security prison complex? _

_What's going on in my mind? _She gripped her head and began to shake violently.

_I am not insane, I am not insane, I do not have multiple personality disorder. _

_I am Mary walker; I am here in gotham city for a vacation._

_I am here for a vaca------_

Mary fell to the floor and began convulsing; she tried to call out for help but slowly faded away. The room around her went black.

She opened her eyes and calmly stood up. She went to the closet and brought out a small black briefcase. She opened it, inside were schematics of the black-gate prison complex, lists of all the prisoners and their abilities and finally a signed contract from the kingpin assuring her full payment after she completes her work for the kingpin.

_I am Typhoid Mary, I am a goddess of destruction, queen of glorious pain._

_I am Typhoid Mary, I am here in gotham city for a job._

_I am here to burst open the residents of black-gate prison…_

**Arkham asylum**

Spider-man helped batman walk across the lobby of arkham. They were desperate to get out immediately.

They reached the front door, batman motioned for spider-man to stop.

"_What's wrong bats?" _spider-man asked.

"_so far we've been lucky, we've made it to the lobby without getting into any trouble, I just want you to know that once we pass through this door it's a whole new situation, it's a war zone out there and it's our duty to assist the police in any way that we can" _batman explained calmly.

"_I know that, but our main priority is to get you help" _spider-man said sympathetically.

"_No! Forget me! We have to contain the inmates! They must not get into the city!" _batman snapped angrily. He winced in pain.

Spider-man tried to put his hand on batman's shoulder to comfort him, batman just pushed it away and pointed at the door.

"_Move out" _he ordered with a low growl.

Spider-man and batman exited the asylum; they were greeted by the sound of gunshots and the sight of chaos.

**Arkham asylum- main gate**

"_Hold 'em off!" _Luke cage shouted as he carried an inmate and tossed him at a group of attackers.

"_What do ya think I'm doing?" _nightwing replied as he swatted an inmate with his escrima sticks.

"_Lady, a little help would be fine!" _iron fist called out to huntress as he gave a dagger kick to amygdala in the face.

"_Be there with you in a minute!" _huntress answered cheerily while she bashed mad hatter's head into the ground.

Daredevil was a work of art in motion. His super-enhanced hearing gave him an edge in combat that few could match.

He took on fifteen inmates, victor zsasz , tweetle-dee and tweetle-dum was part of the group. They all tried to rush him at once, much to their surprise he anticipated their moves just as they were coming in on him, he ducked several times to avoid a multitude of fists, he bounced from one inmate to another using his powerful kicks to propel himself off of them.

A large hulking inmate tried to grab him from behind but he heard him from a mile away and countered with a sharp elbow jab, sending the bruiser reeling to the ground.

Zsasz held a sharp piece of glass in his right hand, he watched as daredevil took down the inmates with ease; their party of fifteen was reduced to six.

"_Hold him tight so I can gut him" _zsasz hissed to tweetle-dee and tweetle-dum. They both nodded and ran towards daredevil.

They tried to grab him by his arms, daredevil twirled around to avoid their grip, he countered by kicking tweetle-dee's right knee-cap, effectively breaking it. Tweetle-dee howled in pain as daredevil kneed him in the face; the big lump fell to the ground out-cold. Tweetle-dum growled in anger and threw several huge punches, daredevil merely flipped from side-side coolly evading the blows; he countered by hurling his baton at tweetle-dum's face. The baton hit his face with incredible force, daredevil followed through with two fast hooks and one really emphasized haymaker. The gaint goon fell to the ground beside his partner. the other three loonies ran away in fear.

Zsasz gave out a psychotic scream, he ran towards daredevil intending to stab him with the deadly glass shard. Daredevil merely turned around and with his uncanny speed grabbed him by the throat; zsasz dropped the shard as the grip quickly became very tight. Daredevil used his strength to lift the serial killer up; he raised him for a few moments.

"_Murder another innocent person and you'll hear from me, regardless of batman" _daredevil threatened with a low raspy voice, he then threw zsasz to the side, the madman fainted from lack of air and intense fear.

Moon knight was surrounded by a heap of unconscious inmates; he was by far the most brutal of the heroes in the battle, so it came as no surprise that he fought his attackers back with a mace and a truncheon.

An injured inmate crawled up to him and tugged at his cape with a bloody hand. Moon knight looked down on the inmate.

"_I didn't mean it pops" _the loony pleaded with a child-like grin.

Moon knight raised his mace high up; he was going to put this sad mess out of his misery.

Moon knight was about to deliver the fatal blow when all of a sudden a batarang knocked the mace out of his hand.

"_Please tell me, you're on our side" _spider-man said as he landed in front of him.

Moon knight didn't reply instead he stared at the dark figure standing behind spider-man.

"_I assume you didn't come here alone, how many of you and who?" _the dark knight questioned him angrily.

Nightwing, huntress, luke cage and iron fist were slowly being surrounded. The police force was now completely non-existent. The inmates slowly gathered around them.

"_Your not going anywhere little children, I'm going to have to spank you for being so naughty" _Hugo strange said licking his lips.

The inmates were armed with all kinds of make-shift weaponry; broken glass, long pieces of wood, stones and bricks, some even wielded body parts.

"_Give up already, your making me late!" _mad hatter screamed furiously as he glanced at his watch.

Nightwing and the rest of the group remained silent; they fell into their fighting stance.

"_Well, at least we were fair about it" _Hugo strange remarked sarcastically.

The inmates moved in to overwhelm the group when suddenly a pair of electrified batarangs flew into the crowd of inmates, cries of pain filled the air.

"_It's the batman!" _one of the inmates shouted as he pointed a shaky finger at the menacing figure that loomed in front of them.

Batman stood there with spider-man, moon knight and daredevil behind him.

"_Get back into your cells" _batman ordered as he took one step closer, despite his bruised ribs he still walked with that same regality and awe that inspired fear in anyone who looked at him.

"_Run back! Run back! Before he gets us!" _a frightened inmate yelled, majority of the group rushed back into arkham, genuinely terrified at what the dark knight might do to them.

Mad hatter, hugo strange and some of the party remained, refusing to yield to the caped crusader.

"_You are not stopping us this time, bat-freak!" _hugo strange shrilled in rage. Mad hatter re-loaded his pistol getting ready for an apparent fight.

"_I wont, but they will" _batman retorted smartly.

Amidst all the excitement that batman's arrival had generated, they had completely forgotten about the rest of the crime-fighters.

Nightwing, huntress, luke cage and iron-fist leaped at the inmates.

The fight ended in a matter of seconds

The end of the battle soon followed…

Nevertheless it was a tragic defeat for the Batman...


End file.
